Solar cell module securing structure

ABSTRACT

A solar cell module securing structure includes a solar cell module, a first securing member that supports the solar cell module, a second securing member that includes an installation connecting portion having an installing portion on which the first securing member is installed, an inclined connecting portion extending from the installation connecting portion, and an abutting portion that is bent from the inclined connecting portion so as to extend along a structural surface of a roof structural member, and spacer members which are laminated between the first securing member and the second securing member at multiple stages. Further, a long hole portion having a long hole shape, which penetrates through the installing surface, is formed on the installing portion of the installation connecting portion, thereby making fine adjustment of a securing position of the first securing member with respect to the second securing member.

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/JP2011/075205 filed on Nov. 1, 2011, of which full contents areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a solar cell module securing structure,in particular, relates to a solar cell module securing structure havinga securing member for securing a plurality of solar cell modules ontoroof.

2. Description of the Related Art

A solar cell module is installed on roof of a building and power isgenerated with sunlight. As a securing structure for securing aplurality of panel-like solar cell modules onto the roof, the followingconfiguration is employed, for example. That is, roof securing claspsare mounted on a roofboard on which roof materials such as roof tilesare laid at a predetermined interval. Then, a plurality of lengthwisepieces is mounted on the roof securing clasps and a plurality of longlateral crosspieces is mounted at a predetermined interval so as tobridge across the lengthwise pieces. In such a manner, a mounting standin a form of parallel crosses is formed. The solar cell modules aresupported between the lateral crosspieces so as to be secured onto theroof. In this case, there has been a problem that various members suchas the roof securing clasps and the lengthwise pieces are required sothat the number of parts is increased, resulting in increase in facilitycost. In addition, there has also arisen a problem that these membershave to be assembled on the roof with a bad foothold so that an amountof man-hours is increased, resulting in increase in operation cost.

In order to solve the above problems, the present inventors haveaccelerated technological development relating to the solar cell modulesecuring structure as described above. Further, the present inventorshave proposed a securing structure which makes it possible to install asolar cell module on roof of a building easily at low cost withoutrequiring a mounting stand in the form of parallel crosses. With thistechnique, outer edges of the solar cell module at an eaves side and aridge side can be supported by a plurality of securing members and thesecuring members can be directly secured onto a roof structural member(roof material, building structural member, or the like) on which thesolar cell module is to be installed (see, Patent Document 1; JapanesePatent Application Laid-open NO. 2007-165499). The securing structure isconfigured by including the securing members. Each securing memberincludes an installing portion on which the outer edge of the solar cellmodule is installed and a securing portion which is formed on a lowerside of the installing portion and is a portion for securing thesecuring structure onto the roof material. Further, the securing memberincludes a base portion, an erected portion, and a blocking portion. Thebase portion is installed on the roof material. The erected portionextends from the installing portion of the base portion to the upperside. The blocking portion extends from an upper end of the erectedportion to both sides so as to be in parallel with the installingportion. The securing member can sandwich and support the outer edge ofthe solar cell module by the installing portion and the blockingportion. With this securing structure, a plurality of solar cell modulescan be secured from the one direction side (for example, eaves side)toward the other direction side (for example, ridge side) sequentially.This makes it possible to simplify an installing operation of the solarcell modules. Further, the securing members themselves are formed so asto be slidable along the outer edges of the solar cell modules.Therefore, securing positions thereof can be aligned with the buildingstructural member of the roof, such as a rafter, so that installingstrength of the securing members themselves can be enhanced. Inaddition, since an additional configuration such as the mounting standis not needed, the number of parts can be largely reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, the solar cell module securing structure as described abovepossibly has the following problem. The securing members are secureddirectly onto the roof material so that operation efficiency can beenhanced and the number of parts can be reduced. However, a problem isgenerated when the solar cell module is exchanged in some case. Thesolar cell module is designed on an assumption of being used outside andessentially has performance of sufficient durability and waterresistance higher than standard levels such that the solar cell moduleis durable even if it is exposed to rainwater and the like for a longperiod of time. However, when trees or the like flying due to typhoon orthe like hit the solar cell module and a part or the entire of the solarcell module is damaged, an operation of exchanging the solar cell modulefor a new solar cell module is required. Alternatively, when estimatedusage lifetime of the solar cell module has passed and power generationperformance thereof is deteriorated so that a sufficient powergeneration amount cannot be obtained, the above exchange operation isalso required.

In this case, the securing members connecting the roof structural memberand the solar cell module need to be detached when the solar cell moduleis directly installed on the roof structural member through the securingmembers. The securing members are secured onto the roof structuralmember by using securing screws or the like, and securing screw holesbored by the securing screws are left after the securing members havebeen detached. When damaged or old solar cell module is exchanged for anew solar cell module and the new solar cell module is secured onto theroof structural member by using the securing members and the securingscrews again, the securing screws are not fastened at the same positionsas the securing screw holes used before in many cases in terms ofinstallation strength. Therefore, new securing screw holes are bored atpositions on the roof material every time the solar cell module isexchanged, resulting in disfigurement of the roof structural memberitself in some cases. Further, if a plurality of holes (securing screwholes) are provided on the roof structural member, rainwater and thelike flowing down the roof material become easy to enter an innerportion of the roof structural member. This arises a problem thatstrengths of the roof structural member itself and the building aredeteriorated.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present inventionis to provide a solar cell module securing structure which makes itpossible to make an installing operation of a solar cell module easy anddoes not damage a roof material and the like when the solar cell moduleis mounted and exchanged.

In order to achieve the above object, a solar cell module securingstructure (hereinafter, simply referred to as “securing structure”)according to an aspect of the invention “includes a solar cell modulethat has a rectangular solar cell panel and a frame body which makescontact with a panel outer circumference of the solar cell panel, afirst securing member that has a frame body connecting portion which isconnected to the frame body of the solar cell module and a base portionwhich is formed at a lower-side position of the frame body connectingportion, a second securing member that is inserted between the firstsecuring member and a roof structural member on which the solar cellmodule is to be installed, wherein the second securing member includesan installation connecting portion that has an installing portion havingan installing surface on which the base portion of the first securingmember is installed and a vertical leg portion which is bent from aneaves-side installing side of the installing portion in an orthogonaldirection and holds the installing portion at a predetermined heightfrom a structural surface of the roof structural member, and supportsthe first securing member from the lower side, an inclined connectingportion that has an inclined portion which is bent and extends from aridge-side installing side of the installing portion of the installationconnecting portion in a diagonal direction, and an inclined leg portionwhich connects the inclined portion and the structural surface, and anabutting portion that is bent and extends from a ridge-side inclinedside of the installing portion in a diagonal direction along thestructural surface and has an abutting surface which abuts against thestructural surface”.

The roof structural member is a member corresponding to a roof portionof a building on which the solar cell module is to be installed. Forexample, the roof structural member collectively indicate roof materialssuch as “slate”, “ceramic roof tile”, “metal roof tile”, “cement rooftile”, and “zinc roof”, and building structural members which supportthe above roof materials, such as “rafter”, “roofboard”, “lateralcrosspiece bridged on rafter”, and “roof purlin”. That is, it issufficient that the solar cell module securing structure according tothe invention has a configuration in which the solar cell module issecured onto any of the roof material and the building structural memberthrough the first securing member and the second securing member.Further, the first securing member connects the solar cell module andthe second securing member and holds the solar cell module in a state ofkeeping it at a predetermined height from a structural surface of theroof structural member. The first securing member in the aspect of theinvention corresponds to a configuration of a “securing member” in theconventional solar cell module securing structure as described above.The first securing member has a configuration of a frame body connectingportion which sandwiches and holds the frame body of the solar cellmodule from upper and lower directions for connection, and the like. Itis to be noted that since the details of configurations and connectionsof the solar cell module and the first securing member (corresponding tosecuring member) are well known, detail explanation thereof is notdescribed.

On the other hand, the second securing member is inserted between thefirst securing member and the roof structural member. Threeconfigurations of an installation connecting portion, an inclinedconnecting portion, and an abutting portion are formed on the secondsecuring member so as to be lined from the ridge side toward the eavesside along a roof inclined direction of the roof structural member. Theinstallation connecting portion includes an installing portion having aninstalling surface which abuts against a base portion bottom surface ofthe base portion of the first securing member. The installationconnecting portion can hold the first securing member in a state ofkeeping the first securing member at a predetermined height from thestructural surface. The height is determined mainly by a length of thevertical leg portion orthogonal to the ridge-side installing side of theinstalling portion. That is to say, the installation connecting portionis formed by a flat plate-like member and includes the vertical legportion which is arranged along the direction orthogonal to thestructural surface, and the installing portion which is bent from anupper end of the vertical leg portion in the orthogonal direction.Further, the installation connecting portion has a cross section of an Lshape when seen from the side. It is to be noted that a bottom end ofthe vertical leg portion abuts against the structural surface only andis not fastened and secured between the vertical leg portion and thestructural surface at the abutting position. With the configuration ofthe installation connecting portion, the installing surface of theinstalling portion and the structural surface are kept to be parallelwith each other so that the base portion of the first securing membercan be installed on the installing surface.

On the inclined connecting portion, the inclined portion on which theinclined surface is formed is bent and extends from the ridge-sideinstalling side of the installing portion toward the structural surfacein a diagonal direction and the inclined leg portion which is orthogonalto the inclined surface of the inclined portion is provided along thedirection toward the structural surface. With this, the inclinedconnecting portion and the extended installation connecting portion aresupported through the inclined leg portion. It is to be noted that asecuring screw hole is provided on the inclined leg portion so as topenetrate therethrough along a leg direction. A securing screw isinserted into the securing screw hole and is secured to the roofstructural member so that the second securing member is secured to theroof structural member.

Further, on the second securing member, the flat plate-like abuttingportion that has the abutting surface which abuts'against the structuralsurface is provided at the ridge side of the inclined connectingportion. It is to be noted that a securing screw hole which penetratesthrough the abutting surface is also provided on the abutting portion inthe same manner as that provided on the above inclined leg portion ofthe inclined connecting portion. With this, the roof structural memberand the abutting portion are secured to each other with the securingscrew. That is to say, in the aspect of the invention, the secondsecuring member is secured to the roof structural member at twopositions of the inclined leg portion and the abutting portion. Notethat the penetrating directions of the securing screw holes provided onthe inclined leg portion and the abutting portion are orthogonal to theinclined surface and the abutting surface, respectively. Therefore, thepenetrating directions of the securing screw holes are farther from eachother toward front ends of the securing screw holes (to the side of thestructural surface). Accordingly, when the second securing member issecured to the structural surface of the inclined roof structuralmember, securing strength can be significantly enhanced more than usualwith one pair of securing screws exhibiting maximum load capacity indifferent directions and securing screws to be inserted therethrough.

Accordingly, with the securing structure according to the aspect of theinvention, the second securing member is inserted between the firstsecuring member and the roof structural member. Therefore, when thesolar cell module is exchanged, a fastened state between the secondsecuring member and the first securing member is released so that thesolar cell module can be detached from the roof structural member. As aresult, the second securing member is kept to be secured to thestructural surface. Therefore, a new securing screw hole is not requiredto be formed when a solar cell module is installed again. Accordingly,an unnecessary securing screw hole is not present on the structuralsurface of the roof structural member, thereby preventing the roofstructural member itself from being damaged. In addition, a part of thesecond securing member has the inclined surface which is inclined withrespect to the structural surface. This makes it possible to perform aninstalling operation of the solar cell module easily by using theinclined surface. That is to say, when the solar cell module issequentially from the eaves side in general, the frame body of the solarcell module is moved along the inclined surface of the inclinedconnecting portion constituting the second securing member. Then, theframe body can be fitted into the frame body connecting portion of thefirst securing member so as to be sandwiched and held thereby. Thismakes it possible to make the installing operation of the solar cellmodule easy.

Further, the securing structure according to the aspect of the inventionmay have a configuration in which “the installation connecting portionfurther includes a long hole portion having a long hole shape thatpenetrates through the installing portion, and extends along the roofinclined direction connecting an eaves side and a ridge side of the roofstructural member, a fastener securing bolt which is capable of beinginserted through the long hole portion and a nut which is fastened tothe fastener securing bolt, and is capable of adjusting a securingposition of the first securing member with respect to the secondsecuring member along the roof inclined direction” in addition to theabove configuration.

Accordingly, with the securing structure according to the aspect of theinvention, the long hole portion having the long hole shape is providedon the installation connecting portion of the second securing member.Note that the first securing member is installed on the second securingmember so as to be supported thereby. With the long hole portion, aninstallation position (securing position) of the first securing memberon the second securing member can be freely displaced along a directionconnecting an eaves and a ridge of a roof inclined surface. As a result,the securing position of the first securing member (eventually, solarcell module) can be easily adjusted. In particular, a plurality of solarcell modules are installed on the structural surface of the roofstructural member in a matrix form and a lot of work is required for anadjustment operation of aligning positions of the solar cell modules inthe vertical direction and the lateral direction to one another. In thiscase, since the long hole portion is provided on the installing portion,fine adjustment of the position particularly in the vertical direction(corresponding to eaves-ridge direction) is made easy so that the solarcell modules can be installed on the roof structural member in a stateof being aligned regularly. It is to be noted that the long hole portionof the installation connecting portion has an advantage that the aboveadjustment can be made easy not only in a case where a solar cell moduleis newly installed on a roof surface but also in a case where a solarcell module is detached once for maintenance and is mounted again.

Further, the securing structure according to the aspect of the inventionmay have a configuration in which “a spacer member that has arectangular shape and is inserted between the base portion and theinstalling portion so as to be laminated at multiple stages is furtherprovided, the spacer member includes a notch portion that is notchedfrom an eaves-side spacer side of the spacer member so as to have suchwidth that a bolt shaft of the fastener securing bolt is capable ofbeing inserted through the notch portion, a step portion that is formedon a side upper end of a ridge-side spacer side of the spacer member,and a hooking portion that is formed on a side lower end of theridge-side spacer side so as to match with a step shape of the stepportion, and the second securing member further includes a secondsecuring step portion that is formed on the ridge-side installing sideso as to match with a shape of the hooking portion” in addition to theabove configuration.

The spacer member is formed by a flat plate-like member having arectangular shape and a predetermined thickness (for example,approximately 3 mm). Further, the notch portion that is notched from onelong side (eaves-side spacer side) of the spacer member toward a centeris formed on the spacer member. Then, the bolt shaft of the abovefastener securing bolt is inserted through the notch portion so that thefirst securing member and the second securing member are connected andsecured to each other by the fastener securing portion with nohindrance. On the other hand, the step portion having the step shape isprovided at the side upper end of the other long side (ridge-side spacerside) opposed to the eaves-side spacer side. Further, the hookingportion corresponding to the step portion is formed on the side lowerend thereof. As a result, even when a plurality of spacer members arelaminated at multiple stages, the hooking portion of the spacer memberat the upper side can be hooked with the step portion of the spacermember at the lower side. Note that the second securing member ismounted on the structural surface of the inclined roof structuralmember. A state where the spacer member at the upper stage is hooked andlaminated on the spacer member at the lower stage can be kept with thehooking between the spacer members. This makes it possible to installthe spacer members each having a predetermined thickness on the firstsecuring member and the second securing member at a plurality of stagesand perform fine adjustment in the height direction when the solar cellmodule is installed. In addition, the spacer member can be hooked withthe second securing member with the second securing step portionprovided on the ridge-side installing side of the second securingmember.

Accordingly, with the securing structure according to the aspect of theinvention, a distance between the first securing member and the secondsecuring member can be adjusted by using the spacer member so that aninstallation height of the solar cell module can be finely adjusted.Further, as the spacer member having the step portion and the hookingportion is employed, even when a plurality of spacer members arelaminated, the spacer members can be restricted from rotating around thebolt shaft of the fastener securing bolt. This makes it possible to makean insertion operation of the spacer members and an installing operationof the solar cell module easy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of asecuring structure according to the embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a descriptive view illustrating a state where the securingstructure is installed on a roof structural member when seen from theside.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the schematicconfiguration of the securing structure.

FIGS. 4A-4C are views illustrating a configuration of a spacer member,FIG. 4A is a front view, FIG. 4B is a plan view, and FIG. 4C is a leftside view. FIGS. 5A-5C are views illustrating a configuration of asecond securing member, FIG. 5A is a front view, FIG. 5B is a plan view,and FIG. 5C is a left side view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating another example of aconfiguration of a securing structure according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a securing structure 1 (solar cell module securingstructure) as an embodiment of the invention is described with referenceto FIG. 1 to FIG. 6. As the securing structure 1 according to theembodiment, a securing structure used when a solar cell module 9 isinstalled on roof (roof structural member 2) constituted by laying aroof material 6 on a building structural member 5 such as a roofboardand a rafter is described as an example, as illustrated in FIG. 2 andthe like. To be more specific, the solar cell module 9 is installed onan inclined structural surface 8 of the roof structural member 2 byusing a first securing member 7 and the second securing member 4. It isto be noted that a configuration of the solar cell module 9 includingframe bodies 11 and the like is not illustrated in the drawings ifnecessary for simplifying the explanation.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and the like, the securing structures 1according to the embodiment are configured by mainly including the solarcell module 9 formed in a rectangular shape, the plurality of firstsecuring members 7, the second securing members 4, and the plurality ofspacer members 3. The first securing members 7 support the frame bodies11 of the solar cell module 9 at a ridge side and an eaves side. Thesecond securing members 4 are secured to the roof structural member 2.The spacer members 3 are inserted between the first securing members 7and the second securing members 4 in a laminated manner at multiplestages.

The solar cell module 9 has a substantially rectangular shape when seenfrom the above. The solar cell module 9 is configured by mainlyincluding a solar cell panel 10 and the frame bodies 11. The solar cellpanel 10 has solar cells (not illustrated) which generate power byreceiving sunlight. The frame bodies 11 hold panel outer circumferencesof the solar cell panel 10. The frame bodies 11 are formed so as to befitted to frame body connecting portions 12 of the first securingmembers 7, which will be described later. It is to be noted that asconfigurations of the solar cell module 9, the frame bodies 11, and thelike, those which are conventionally well known can be used, andexplanation of details thereof such as shapes is not given.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 and the like, each first securing member 7 isconfigured by mainly including a frame body connecting portion 12 and abase portion 13. The frame body connecting portion 12 supports the framebody 11 of the solar cell module 9. The base portion 13 is provided at alower side position of the frame body connecting portion 12 and issecured through the second securing member 4 and the plurality of spacermembers 3. As will be described in detail, the base portion 13 exhibitsa square cylindrical form having a rectangular cross-sectional shapewhen seen from the side, and is configured by including a base portionupper surface portion 13 a, a base portion bottom surface portion 13 b,a pair of base portion side surface portions 13 c, and a reinforcing legportion 13 d. The base portion side surface portions 13 c connect bothends of the base portion upper surface portion 13 a and the base portionbottom surface portion 13 b. The reinforcing leg portion 13 d connectscenter portions of the base portion upper surface portion 13 a and thebase portion bottom surface portion 13 b. It is to be noted that a bolthole 15 is bored on the base portion bottom surface portion 13 b at theridge side as partitioned by the reinforcing leg portion 13 d. A boltshaft 14 a of a fastener securing bolt 14 used for fastening andsecuring to the second securing member 4, which will be described later,can be inserted through the bolt hole 15. That is to say, a nut 16 forfastening and securing can be inserted into a space (upper portion ofthe bolt hole 15) at the ridge side as partitioned by the reinforcingleg portion 13 d. Note that the fastener securing bolt 14 and the nut 16correspond to a fastener securing portion according to the invention.

On the other hand, the frame body connecting portion 12 is configured bymainly including an erected portion 12 a, a pair of horizontal extendingportions 12 b, 12 c, a projecting portion 12 d, and a pair of frame bodyengaging projections 12 e, 12 f. The erected portion 12 a is provided atan eaves side position as partitioned by the reinforcing leg portion 13d of the base portion 13 and is erected from the base portion uppersurface portion 13 a in the vertical direction. The horizontal extendingportions 12 b, 12 c are provided to extend from a front end of theerected portion 12 a to the eaves side and the ridge side in thehorizontal direction, respectively. The projecting portion 12 d isformed between the horizontal extending portion 12 b and the baseportion upper surface portion 13 a at the eaves side so as to projectfrom an intermediate position of the erected portion 12 to the eavesside in the horizontal direction. A front end of the projecting portion12 d is formed into a hook-like shape. The frame body engagingprojections 12 e, 12 f project from a position on a lower surface of thehorizontal extending portion 12 c at the ridge side and a position onthe base portion upper surface portion 13 a of the base portion 13,respectively, which are opposed to each other. As the configuration isemployed, the frame bodies 11 of the solar cell module 9 at the eavesside and the ridge side can be fitted to the frame body connectingportions 12 so as to be held. The first securing member 7 is formed witha metal material such as aluminum. Further, the plurality of the firstsecuring members 7 are installed along a lengthwise direction (depthdirection of a paper plane of FIG. 2) of the frame body 11 of the solarcell module 9.

As mainly illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4C and the like, each spacer member 3is configured into a flat plate form having a substantially rectangularshape and has a notch portion 17 having a semielliptical shape, which isnotched from an eaves-side spacer side 3 a toward a center portion. Anotch width of the notch portion 17 is set to be substantially equal toa shaft diameter of the bolt shaft 14 a of the fastener securing bolt 14as described above. Further, in the securing structure 1 according tothe embodiment, the thickness of each spacer member 3 is set toapproximately 3 mm and four spacer members 3 are used. On the otherhand, a step portion 18 formed into a step-like form by cutting a cornerportion into a square shape is provided on a side upper end 3 c of aridge-side spacer side 3 b of the spacer member 3. Further, a hookingportion 19 which projects to the lower side from the ridge-side spacerside 3 b of the spacer member 3 is provided on a lower end 3 d of theridge-side spacer side 3 b so as to match with the step-like shape ofthe above step portion 18. With this, when the plurality (four in theembodiment) of spacer members 3 are laminated at multiple stages asillustrated in FIG. 2, they are laminated on one another in thefollowing state. That is, the step portions 18 and the hooking portions19 of the spacer members 3 at the upper side and the lower side arehooked with each other. Further, an upper surface and a lower surface ofthe spacer members 3 make close contact with each other with no spacetherebetween and the side positions of the ridge-side spacer sides 3 bof the spacer members 3 are aligned in the vertical direction. It is tobe noted that the spacer member 3 located at an uppermost stage amongthe laminated space members abuts against the base portion bottomsurface portion 13 b of the first securing member 7 while the spacermember 3 located at a lowermost stage abuts against an installingsurface 20 a of an installing portion 20 of a second securing member 4,which will be described later. The spacer members 3 are formed such thatabutting areas of an upper surface and a lower surface of the abuttingspacer members 3 are substantially equal to an area of the base portionbottom surface portion 13 b at the ridge side as partitioned by thereinforcing leg portion 13 d and an area of the installing surface 20 aof the installing portion 20, respectively.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 and the like, each second securing member 4 isconfigured by including an installation connecting portion 22, aninclined connecting portion 25, and an abutting portion 26. Theinstallation connecting portion 22 includes the installing portion 20and a vertical leg portion 21 and supports the first securing member 7from the lower side. The installing portion 20 has the installingsurface 20 a on which the base portion 13 of the first securing member 7is installed through the above spacer members 3. The vertical legportion 21 is bent from an eaves-side installing side 20 b of theinstalling portion 20 in an orthogonal direction and holds theinstalling portion 20 at a predetermined height from the structuralsurface 8 of the roof structural member 2. The inclined connectingportion 25 includes an inclined portion 23 and an inclined leg portion24. The inclined portion 23 is bent and extends from a ridge-sideinstalling side 20 c of the installing portion 20 toward the structuralsurface in a diagonal direction. The inclined leg portion 24 is providedbetween the inclined portion 23 and the structural surface 8 andprojects from the inclined surface 23 a of the inclined portion 23toward the structural surface 8 in the orthogonal direction. Theabutting portion 26 is bent and extends from the ridge-side inclinedside 23 b of the inclined portion 23 in a diagonal direction along thestructural surface 8, and has an abutting surface 26 a which abutsagainst the structural surface 8. Note that the installation connectingportion 22, the inclined connecting portion 25, and the abutting portion26 of the second securing member 4 are formed with a metal material suchas aluminum as in the first securing member 7 and are integrally formed.The second securing member 4 includes an inclination securing screw hole27 a and an abutment securing screw hole 27 b. The inclination securingscrew hole 27 a is formed so as to penetrate through the inclined legportion 24 from the inclined portion 23. The abutment securing screwhole 27 b is formed so as to penetrate through the abutting portion 26.The second securing member 4 is secured to the roof structural member 2by using the screw hole 27 a, 27 b and the securing screw 28. Further, along hole portion 29 having a long hole shape is provided on the secondsecuring member 4 so as to penetrate through the installing surface 20 aof the installing portion 20 of the installation connecting portion 22.It is to be noted that the long hole portion 29 exhibits a substantiallyelliptical shape and a long circle direction is identical to a directionconnecting the eaves side and the ridge side of the roof structuralmember 2 (corresponding to up-down direction of a paper plane of. FIG.5B.

Further, on the second securing member 4, a second securing step portion30 is provided on the ridge-side installing side 20 c of the installingportion 20 of the installation connecting portion 22, as anotherconfiguration. The second securing step portion 30 matches with theshape of the hooking portion 19 of the spacer member 3. The spacermember 3 can be easily hooked on the second securing member 4 by hookingthe hooking portion 19 of the spacer member 3 on the second securingstep portion 30. Note that the step portion 18 and the hooking portion19 are formed along the ridge-side spacer side 3 b on each spacer member3 as described above. As illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5C, the second securingstep portion 30 is also formed along the width direction of the secondsecuring member 4 (corresponding to right-left direction of a paperplain of FIG. 5B and the like). Therefore, the above hooking restrictsthe spacer members 3 from rotating around the bolt shaft 14 a of thefastener securing bolt 14. It is to be noted that leg projectingportions 31 are provided on the vertical leg portion 21 of theinstallation connecting portion 22 and the inclined leg portion 24 ofthe inclined connecting portion 25. The leg projecting portions 31extend in the horizontal direction in order to increase contact areaswith the structural surface 8. In this case, leg surfaces 31 a of theleg projecting portions are formed on the same plane as the abuttingsurface 26 a of the abutting portion 26.

Next, examples of installation and securing of the solar cell module 9on the securing structures 1 according to the embodiment are described.At first, the plurality of second securing members 4 to be located atthe eaves side are arranged at a predetermined interval along thelateral direction (depth direction of the paper plane of FIG. 2) so asto be secured onto the roof structural member 2. At this time, eachsecond securing member 4 makes contact with the structural surface 8 ofthe roof structural member 2 at three portions along from the eaves sideto the ridge side. The three portions are the leg surface 31 a of theleg projecting portion 31 of the vertical leg portion 21 of theinstallation connecting portion 22, the leg surface 31 a of the legprojecting portion 31 of the inclined leg portion 24 of the inclinedconnecting portion 25, and the abutting surface 26 a of the abuttingportion 26. Then, the securing screws 28 are inserted into the screwholes 27 a, 27 b bored on the inclined leg portions 24 and the abuttingportions 26 from the upper side and front ends of the securing screws 28are threaded into the secured roof structural member 2 so as to besecured. As a result, the second securing members 4 are secured instates of being along the inclined structural surface 8. At this time,boring directions of the screw holes 27 a, 27 b become farther from eachother (see, FIG. 2 and the like). Therefore, two securing screws 28which are inserted into the screw holes 27 a, 27 b and secured to theroof structural member 2 also become farther from each other toward thefront ends of the screws when seen from the side. That is to say, onesecuring screws 28 arranged at the ridge side are secured so as to beorthogonal to the abutting surfaces 26 a of the abutting portions 26 andbe also orthogonal to the structural surface 8 of the roof structuralmember 2. On the other hand, the other securing screws 28 arranged atthe eaves side are secured in the diagonal direction along the screwholes 27 a bored on the inclined leg portions 24. More in detail, theother securing screws 28 are secured in a state where front ends of thescrews direct to the eaves side with respect to head portions of thesecuring screws 28. As a result, even when large load is applied fromthe ridge side to the eaves side, load capacity can be improved incomparison with a case where both of one pairs of securing screws 28 aresecured in the directions orthogonal to the structural surface 8.Accordingly, the solar cell module 9 and the like to be installed on theroof can be sufficiently supported. In particular, when a plurality ofsolar cell modules 9 are installed on the roof in a matrix form, largeload is applied to the second securing members 4 installed at thelowermost stage at the eaves side. The securing structures 1 accordingto the embodiment make it possible to sufficiently cope with suchsituation with the arrangement of the screw holes 27 a, 27 b and onepairs of the securing screws 28.

After the second securing members 4 have been secured onto the roofstructural member 2, the spacer members 3 are installed on theinstalling surfaces 20 a of the installing portions 20 of the secondsecuring members 4 in a laminated manner. To be more specific, thehooking portions 19 which are provided on the ridge-side spacer sides 3b of the rectangular spacer members 3 so as to project to the lower sidein hook forms (or L-shaped forms) are hooked on the second securing stepportions 30 of the second securing members 4. At this time, the secondsecuring members 4 themselves are inclined along the structural surface8 of the roof structural member 2 as described above. Accordingly, thespacer members 3 in a state where the hooking portions 19 are hooked onthe second securing step portions 30 are restricted from sliding down tothe eaves side under their own weight by the hooking portions 19 and thesecond securing step portions 30, thereby keeping the hooked states.Further, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4C and FIGS. 5A-5C, the hookingportions 19 and the second securing step portions 30 are provided alongthe sides of the spacer members 3 and the sides of the second securingmembers 4, respectively. Therefore, the spacer members 3 are restrictedfrom swinging in the lengthwise directions (depth direction of the paperplane of FIG. 2). This makes the hooked states stable. In particular,the spacer members 3 can be restricted from rotating around the boltshafts 14 a of the fastener securing bolts 14, which will be describedlater.

As in the same manner as the installation of the spacer members 3 on thesecond securing members 4, other spacer members 3 are laminated on theinstalled spacer members 3 at the lowermost positions. At this time, thestep portions 18 and the hooking portions 19 of the spacer members 3 areformed to match with each other. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 2 andthe like, a state where four spacer members 3 are laminated on theinstalling surfaces 20 a of the installing portions 20 of the secondsecuring members 4 at multiple stages can be kept. At this time,adjustment in the lateral direction (corresponding to depth direction ofthe paper plane of FIG. 2) is made such that positions of the notchportions 17 provided on the spacer members 3 are aligned with oneanother.

Thereafter, the bolt shafts 14 a of the fastener securing bolts 14 areinstalled from a space at the rear surface side of the installingsurfaces 20 a of the installing portions 20 of the second securingmembers 4 so as to penetrate through the installing portions 20 and thespacer members 3. Note that the long hole portions 29 having long holeshapes through which the bolt shafts 14 a can be inserted are providedon the installing portions 20 and the notch portions 17 which arenotched from the eaves-side spacer sides 3 a are formed on the spacermembers 3. Therefore, the fastener securing bolts 14 can be installed inthe above manner. Then, the base. portion bottom surface portions 13 bof the base portions 13 of the first securing members 7 are installed onthe upper surfaces of the spacer member 3 located at the upper moststages. At this time, the positions of the bolt shafts 14 a of thefastener securing bolts 14 and the bolt holes 15 which are provided onthe base portion bottom surface portions 13 b so as to penetratetherethrough are made to match with each other so that the front ends ofthe bolt shafts 14 a are made to exit from the bolt holes 15. Then, thenuts 16 are mounted on the front ends of the bolt shafts 14 a throughwashers 16 a so as to be screwed. With this, the installing portions 20of the installation connecting portions 22, the four spacer members 3,and the base portion bottom surface portions 13 b can be secured in astate of being sandwiched between the bolt head portions (notillustrated) of the fastener securing bolts 14 and the nuts 16. Withthis, the first securing members 7 and the second securing members 4 arecompletely secured. At this time, the first securing members 7 areadjusted such that the base portion bottom surface portions 13 b onwhich the frame body connecting portions 12 are installed are located atthe eaves side with respect to the base portion bottom surface portions13 b at the ridge side which are partitioned by the reinforcing legportions 13 d and on which the bolt holes 15 are bored. In the securingstructures 1 according to the embodiment, the spacer members 3 eachhaving the thickness of 3 mm are used so that height adjustment of 1.2cm is made in total. The number of spacer members 3 to be used can beappropriately changed in accordance with an irregular shape of the roofstructural member 2 on which the solar cell module 9 is to be installed.

The positions of the bolt shafts 14 a can be moved along the long holeportions 29 provided on the installing portions 20 to the eaves side orthe ridge side by making fastening with the fastener securing bolts 14and the nuts 16 (corresponding to fastener securing portion) forsecuring the first securing members 7 and the second securing members 4into a loosened state. This makes it possible to freely adjust thesecuring positions of the first securing members 7 with respect to thesecond securing members 4 (relative positional relationships) within apredetermined range. Accordingly, an installation position of the solarcell module 9 to be supported by the first securing members 7 can befinely adjusted to the eaves side or the ridge side. Therefore, mountingpositions and the like of the plurality of solar cell modules 9 whichare arranged on the roof structural member 2 in a matrix form can beadjusted so that the plurality of solar cell modules 9 can be aligned.It is to be noted that the adjustment can be made after the solar cellmodule 9 has been secured to the first securing members 7.

After the first securing members 7 have been secured to the secondsecuring members 4, the frame bodies 11 of the solar cell module 9 aremounted on the frame body connecting portions 12 of the first securingmembers 7. Since details of the installation are conventionally wellknown, detail explanation thereof is not given. In the securingstructures 1 according to the embodiment, the inclined connectingportions 25 of the second securing members 4 are provided such that theinclined portions 23 having the inclined surfaces 23 a are located atthe ridge side with respect to the installation positions of the firstsecuring members 7 on which the frame body connecting portions 12 areprovided. Therefore, when the solar cell module 9 is secured to thefirst securing members 7, the solar cell module 9 is moved from theridge side to the eaves side first, thereby making the securingoperation easy by using the inclined surfaces 23 a. As will be describedin detail, when the solar cell module 9 is installed, the inclinedsurfaces 23 a and a part of the frame body 11 of the solar cell module 9at the eaves side are made contact with each other so that the framebody 11 can be guided to the frame body connecting portions 12 whilemaking the frame body 11 slide along the inclined surfaces 23 a. In acase of a general securing installing operation, many irregularities arepresent on the roof structural member 2 and it has been difficult tomove the solar cell module 9 to a desired position while making thesolar cell module 9 slide on the structural surface 8. Therefore, aplurality of operators have gripped and totally lifted the solar cellmodule 9, and have moved the solar cell module 9 to the frame bodyconnecting portions 12. On the other hand, in the case of the securingstructures 1 according to the embodiment, the solar cell module 9 can bemade closer to the first securing members 7 easily by making the solarcell module 9 slide along the inclined surfaces 23 a. Therefore, thesolar cell module 9 can be lifted in the vicinity of the inclinedportions 23. This makes it possible to make the installing operation ofthe solar cell module 9 easy, thereby reducing load for operators. It isto be noted that the frame body 11 of the solar cell module 9 at theridge side is also supported by using the second securing members 4 andthe first securing members 7 in the same manner. With this, the solarcell module 9 is supported between the first securing members 7 and thesecond securing members 4 arranged at the eaves side and the ridge sidein a state of being apart from the structural surface 8 by apredetermined height. It is to be noted that electric operations and thelike to be performed on the solar cell module 9 which has been installedon the roof are not described.

As described above, with the securing structures 1 according to theembodiment, the first securing members 7 are secured onto the roofstructural member 2 through the second securing members 4 and the spacermembers 3 so that the roof structural member 2 is not directly damagedwhen the solar cell module 9 is exchanged. That is to say, in theexchange operation, the solar cell module 9 can be removed from the roofby releasing securing with the fastener securing portions of thesecuring bolts 14 and the nuts 16 which fasten the first securingmembers 7 and the second securing members 4 and detaching the firstsecuring members 7 from the second securing members 4. As a result,holes for the securing screws 28 are not bored on the roof structuralmember 2 every exchange operation. Therefore, the roof structural member2 is not disfigured and a possibility that rainwater and the like enterthe roof structural member 2 can be suppressed. In addition, necessaryadjustment can be made in accordance with an irregular shape of thestructural surface of the roof structural member 2 on which the solarcell module 9 is to be installed by inserting the spacer members 3between the first securing members 7 and the second securing members 4,thereby aligning the solar cell module 9 at a certaininstallation-height. Further, the spacer members 3 can be laminated atmultiple stages in a state where the eaves-side spacer sides 3 a and theridge-side spacer sides 3 b are aligned with the step portions 18 andthe hooking portions 19, thereby preventing disfigurement when thespacer members 3 are installed. Further, the step portions 18 and thelike can restrict the spacer members 3 from rotating around the boltshafts 14 a, thereby keeping the state where the spacer members 3 areinserted between the first securing members 7 and the second securingmembers 4 reliably. In addition, the installing operation of the solarcell module 9 can be made easy by using the inclined surfaces 23 a ofthe inclined portions 23 of the inclined connecting portions 25.Moreover, positional adjustment of the solar cell module 9 can be madeeasy by using the long hole portions 29 of the installing portions 20.

Hereinbefore, the invention has been described by taking a preferredembodiment as an example. However, the invention is not limited to theembodiment and various improvements and changes in design can be made ina range without departing from a scope of the invention as follows.

That is to say, in the securing structure 1 according to the embodiment,four spacer members 3 are inserted between the first securing member 7and the second securing member 4. However, the invention is not limitedthereto. The number of spacer members 3 can be arbitrarily adjusted inaccordance with an irregular shape and inclination of the roofstructural member 2 on which the solar cell module 9 is to be installed.For example, as illustrated as another configuration example in FIG. 6,an installation configuration 32 of the solar cell module 9 withoutusing the spacer member 3 may be employed. If the configuration isemployed, the base portion bottom surface portion 13 b of the firstsecuring member 7 and the installing surface 20 a of the installingportion 20 of the second securing member 4 make direct contact with eachother. Therefore, the number of parts and an amount of man-hours arereduced, thereby reducing operation cost.

Further, in the securing structure 1 according to the embodiment, a casewhere the solar cell module 9 is newly installed has been described.However, the invention is not limited to the case. That is to say, theabove excellent effects can be obtained in a case where the solar cellmodule 9 is detached once for performing a maintenance operation when apredetermined period of time has passed since the solar cell module 9has been installed. In this case, the maintenance operation can beperformed on the solar cell module 9 by leaving the second securingmembers 4 on the structural surface 8 of the roof structural member 2 asthey are and detaching only the first securing members 7 and the solarcell module 9. Then, when the solar cell module 9 on which maintenanceoperation has been completely performed is installed on the roof again,relative positional relationship can be easily adjusted on a line(vertical direction) connecting the first securing members 7 and thesecond securing members 4 at the ridge side and the eaves side by usingthe long hole portions 29 provided on the installation connectingportions 22 of the second securing members 4. Therefore, the maintenanceoperation can be performed easily without damaging the roof structuralmember 2 and an operation time can be made shorter.

As effects of the invention, an installing operation of a solar cellmodule can be made easy and a possibility that a roof structural memberis damaged when the solar cell module is exchanged can be suppressed byinserting a second securing member between a first securing member and aroof structural member.

1. A solar cell module securing structure, comprising: a solar cellmodule that has a rectangular solar cell panel and a frame body whichmakes contact with a panel outer circumference of the solar cell panel;a first securing member that has a frame body connecting portion whichis connected to the frame body, and a base portion which is formed at alower-side position of the frame body connecting portion; and a secondsecuring member that is inserted between the first securing member and aroof structural member on which the solar cell module is to beinstalled, wherein the second securing member includes: an installationconnecting portion that has an installing portion having an installingsurface on which the base portion is installed, and a vertical legportion which is bent from an eaves-side installing side of theinstalling portion in an orthogonal direction and holds the installingportion at a predetermined height from a structural surface of the roofstructural member, and is connected to the first securing member; aninclined connecting portion that has an inclined portion which is bentand extends from a ridge-side installing side of the installing portiontoward the structural surface in a diagonal direction, and an inclinedleg portion which connects the inclined portion and the structuralsurface and projects from an inclined surface of the inclined portiontoward the structural surface in an orthogonal direction; an abuttingportion that is bent and extends from a ridge-side inclined side of theinstalling portion in a diagonal direction along the structural surfaceand has an abutting surface which abuts against the structural surface;an inclination securing screw hole which secures the second securingmember to the roof structural member, and which penetrates through theinclined leg portion from the inclined portion; and an abutment securingscrew hole which secures the second securing member to roof structuralmember, and which penetrates through the abutting portion.
 2. The solarcell module securing structure according to claim 1, wherein theinstallation connecting portion further includes: a long hole portionhaving a long hole shape that penetrates through the installing portion,and extends along the roof inclined direction connecting an eaves sideand a ridge side of the roof structural member; and a fastener securingportion that has a fastener securing bolt which is capable of beinginserted through the long hole portion and a nut which is fastened tothe fastener securing bolt, and connects the first securing member andthe second securing member while adjusting a securing position of thefirst securing member with respect to the second securing member alongthe roof inclined direction.
 3. The solar cell module securing structureaccording to claim 1, further including a spacer member that has arectangular shape and is inserted between the base portion and theinstalling portion so as to be laminated at multiple stages, wherein thespacer member includes: a notch portion that is notched from aneaves-side spacer side of the spacer member so as to have such widththat a bolt shaft of the fastener securing bolt is capable of beinginserted through the notch portion; a step portion that is formed on aside upper end of a ridge-side spacer side of the spacer member; and ahooking portion that is formed on a side lower end of the ridge-sidespacer side so as to match with a step shape of the step portion, andwherein the second securing member further includes a second securingstep portion that is formed on the ridge-side installing side so as tomatch with a shape of the hooking portion.
 4. A solar cell modulesecuring structure, comprising: a solar cell module that has arectangular solar cell panel and a frame body which makes contact with apanel outer circumference of the solar cell panel; a first securingmember that has a frame body connecting portion which is connected tothe frame body, and a base portion which is formed at a lower-sideposition of the frame body connecting portion; a second securing memberthat is inserted between the first securing member and a roof structuralmember on which the solar cell module is to be installed; and a spacermember that has a rectangular shape and is inserted between the firstsecuring member and the second securing member so as to be laminated atmultiple stages, wherein the second securing member includes: aninstallation connecting portion that has an installing portion having aninstalling surface on which the base portion is installed, and avertical leg portion which is bent from an eaves-side installing side ofthe installing portion in an orthogonal direction and holds theinstalling portion at a predetermined height from a structural surfaceof the roof structural member, and is connected to the first securingmember; an inclined connecting portion that has an inclined portionwhich is bent and extends from a ridge-side installing side of theinstalling portion in a diagonal direction, and an inclined leg portionwhich connects the inclined portion and the structural surface; anabutting portion that is bent and extends from a ridge-side inclinedside of the installing portion in a diagonal direction along thestructural surface and has an abutting surface which abuts against thestructural surface; and a second securing step portion that is formed onthe ridge-side installing side so as to match with a shape of thehooking portion, wherein the spacer member includes: a notch portionthat is notched from an eaves-side spacer side of the spacer member soas to have such width that a bolt shaft of the fastener securing bolt iscapable of being inserted through the notch portion; a step portion thatis formed on a side upper end of a ridge-side spacer side of the spacermember; and a hooking portion that is formed on a side lower end of theridge-side spacer side so as to match with a step shape of the stepportion, and wherein the spacer member is inserted between the baseportion of the first securing member and the installing portion of thesecond securing member.